Beer known as Budweiser Budvar elsewhere takes Czechvar trademark in the United States

Sept 4, 2002 - B.B.N.P., one of the Czech Republic's leading beer exporters, has received its official certificate of registration from the United States Patent and Trademark Office for its Czechvar brand of beer.

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"We are very pleased to clear this hurdle in North America," said Jana Kubistova, brand export manager for B.B.N.P. "Czechvar sales figures have far exceeded our expectations, and we look forward to growing our market presence throughout the United States and Canada without any further legal distractions."

Due to a legal settlement with Anheuser-Busch in 1939, which banned the use of the original brand name in North America, the traditional Czech product was introduced to the American market under the brand name Czechvar. The beer is sold as Budweiser Budvar in Europe. B.B.N.P. holds 380 trademarks in more than 100 countries. It is involved in 40 judicial disputes over the use of the Budweiser name around the world and more than 40 additional proceedings with patent authorities against competitor Anheuser-Busch.

B.B.N.P. began exporting Czechvar to the United States on a trial basis in the autumn of 2000 and officially launched its exports in the spring of 2001. Czechvar is brewed in the town of Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic. Czechvar is currently available in 16 states (CA, CT, FL, GA, ID, IL, KA, MA, NC, NJ, NY, OR, PA, RI, TX, WA) and the District of Columbia. Czechvar is being rolled out on a limited basis in the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec with additional provinces expected to begin distribution later this year.